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moil

moil

1 9.9
A time of confusion and hard work in a difficult situation
  • noun
  • /mɔɪl/
  • Archaic
translation icon : bullicio
  • The workers found themselves in a state of constant moil as they struggled to meet the tight deadline.

Examples

  • (n17) Those who "run after Moses and the Law for their peace and satisfaction of spirit" were overlooking their depravity and running without grace; "where," Crisp enquired, "are your qualifications while there is no strength?" In the legalists' "sweat and toil and moil."

    Academic text (2006)
  • It had rained, and the red moil ran down the ditches in gushes.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • In no time, routine would iron over the dissonance, and Cam, like a new dog, would make her footfalls and eccentricities part of the moil merely by being there.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • In the moil of the crowded market, it was hard to find any peace or quiet.

  • She tried to focus on her studies, but the moil of family arguments distracted her constantly.

Synonyms

mess
vsmoil
1.0

A situation in which things are untidy and confused

adds strong sense of hard, chaotic labour beyond mere untidiness
turmoil
vsmoil
138 4.8

A time of great confusion and disorder

includes hard work as well as confusion and chaos
quagmire
vsmoil
25 7.9

A difficult situation that is hard to escape or solve

is similar but also implies exhausting effort and toil
morass
vsmoil
10 9.3

A confusing situation full of problems that is hard to get out of

adds sense of difficult work within the confusing situation
one hell of a mess
vsmoil
  • NSFW
2 8.4

A very large, messy situation that is hard to fix

adds that the situation includes intense, draining labour
mare's nest
vsmoil
  • Archaic
1 9.9

A confusing, chaotic situation with many mixed-up parts

stresses physical toil and disorder rather than just confusion
9.0

A state of loud noise and confusion

focuses more on chaos plus physical effort and toil
a right state of chaos
vsmoil
  • Informal
8.4

A situation with things all over and people confused

is similar but also conveys hard work and chaotic effort
5.2

With much hurry and disorder

implies also sustained hard work amid the frantic chaos

Antonyms

1.0

The arrangement of things in a neat sequence

304 1.0

A state of comfort and freedom from worry

52 1.0

A quiet, peaceful feeling that helps you stay steady

How Chaotic

turmoil
138 4.8
moil
  • Archaic
1 9.9
bustle
20 4.1
activity
362 1.1
calm
52 1.0

Surface Forms

moil singular
moils plural

Etymology

Moil (noun: a state of hard work or turmoil) — The noun moil carries the same idea you see in turmoil, meaning confusion, busy trouble, or hard work. So to be in moil is to be in a messy, busy, or troubled state.